Connecting your Street Articles account to Social Media networks will allow you to spread the word about your published content. Extend your reach by telling your friends and social circles about your Street Articles publications!

A capo is simple device that allows us to change keys on guitar quickly and easily. There are several types of capos around but in the essence, they all work in the same way – by pressing down the strings across the fret. It replaces the barre grip with your index finger, leaving all fingers free. In order to start using a capo to change keys you need to be familiar with several concepts which I’m going to explain here in detail.

- First you need to be able to find notes on E, A and D strings relatively quickly.

This is essential because the lowest root notes of the basic chord shapes (including maj, min, maj7, min7, dom7, sus2/4, min7b5, diminished and others) are found on those strings.

- You need to know all the basic chords in open position

Like Am, D, C, E, G, Em, A… etc

- You need to be familiar with the concept of root note.

A root note is note from which the chord starts and gets its name from. For example, G chord – root note is G and it’s on the 3rd fret E string, or Am – root note is A, on the open A string, D chord – root note on the open D string... Same with other chords.

- You need to know the major scale formula, and which chords are in which key

Formula for the major scale is T T S T T T S. T – tone; S – Semitone. Semitone corresponds to one fret distance on guitar between notes, and tone is a two fret distance. For example G to A on 6th string is one tone. G – G# or Ab (same notes) is one semitone. So in order to form a major scale you would start on any of the 12 notes in music, and apply that formula.

Lets form the G major scale as an example.

Notes would G (T) A (T) B (S) C (T) D (T) E (T) F# (s) G.

Now we have notes of the G major scale, but how do we know which chords belong to this scale?

There’s formula for that too. First let’s give those notes numbers, 1-7.

The same principle can be applied to any other note. Btw, this is really powerful knowledge ;)

- You need to be familiar with the CAGED system (the most important)

CAGED system is the way guitar works, the way in which the notes are organized on guitar neck. It directly comes from guitar tuning. It is the key thing to learn if you want to understand how guitar harmony works, and really “unlock” your playing.

You probably know how to play E chord and A chord, as well as Em and Am, right? Well, if you put a barre with your index finger on the first fret and form the E chord shape with the rest of your fingers, then you would hold an F chord. Why? Because of the root note which is now F on the first fret of the 6th (low E) string. You can also put a barre with your index finger on the 5th fret, and with the rest of your fingers you would form the E chord shape. That would be the A chord, because the note on the 5th fret E string is A - which is the root note.

Let’s try with A shape. If you use a barre with your index finger and put it for example on 3rd fret, and with the rest of your fingers you form the A chord shape, you would play a C chord, because the root note for the A shape is on the A string, and the note on the 3rd fret A string is C.

Those are the E and A chord shapes, and they’re one of the five shapes on guitar. Other shapes are D shape, C shape, and G shape. EDCAG or CAGED (because it has a catchy name). They are the basic shapes from which all other chords are formed.

With those five shapes you can move chords across the guitar neck, and play any chord in any position that you want. :)

E and A shapes are mostly used shapes as they’re the easiest of the five to learn and move around the neck (although they do require that you build some finger strength).

Using a capo to change keys…

What the guitar capo does is, as I said, it works as a barre and leaves your fingers free. That allows you to easily change keys on guitar, without changing the chord shapes.

If we want to switch our key to A and keep the chord progression the chords would be different.

But if we use capo, and put it on the 2nd fret, we can form a G chord shape, but that would now be the A chord, because of the root note remember? Now we can form the same chord shapes (G shape, Em shape, C shape, D shape), but we would be in the key of A and the chords we would actually play would be A (G shape) - F#m (Em shape) – D (C shape) – E (D shape).

That is how capo allows us to easily change keys on guitar. :)

We can also use capo to stay in key but change the position on guitar neck. For example, we’re in the key of G with the same chord progression, and we want to change position (or shape of the chords) but stay in that key. We can put the capo on the 2nd fret and our G chord would now have the F chord shape but it would still be G of course. If put it on the 3rd fret and we want to play our G chord we would form an E shape chord. If we put the capo on the 5th fret, our G chord would have a D shape. Capo on the 7th and our G would have a C shape, on the 9th fret G chord would be played with an A shape.

That’s the beauty of knowing the CAGED system, and all other stuff that I mentioned here.

Try this with other chords, and you’ll see how easy it is to move them around. :)

Learning to use a capo can really make a big difference in your playing. Sometimes when the melody of the song is too high or too low to sing, you can use a capo and try to sing it in a different key. That’s the main use of capo.

Don't buy really cheap ones. I used to have one... The rubber on them will wear off pretty soon, and it will be very hard to get the clear tone from the strings when you try to put the capo on. My best recommendation would be Dunlop 4650BK which is not expensive but it does it's job perfectly, and it will last.

Don't buy really cheap ones. I used to have one... The rubber on them will wear off pretty soon, and it will be very hard to get the clear tone from the strings when you try to put the capo on. My best recommendation would be Dunlop 4650BK which is not expensive but it does it's job perfectly, and it will last.

You may be new to playing guitar, you may be thinking of buying a guitar, have just bought one, have one gathering dust in your attic/junk room or you may be someone who already knows how to play the guitar and simply wants to improve their technique.
What I want…

Roman Numeral System
Have you ever heard guitarists and other musicians go on about chord using I-VI-V in "A" and never knew what they meant? I will run through what they mean by these terms. The Roman Numeral system exists so that the chords contained within a scale can be…

The basic foundation of guitar music is chords. One of the first things you will do as a guitarist is start to learn simple chords that can be put together into songs. It is amazing how many songs you will be able to play once you learn three easy chords.…

Ever wonder what makes great bands so easy to listen to? Or why some bands sound so good on the album but not as good live? What is it that makes people easily clap their hands and tap their feet to a song? Every bass player and drummer should know…

Learning to play guitar is exciting, but is even more exciting to see how much you have learned with time. In fact to improve your guitar skills is not difficult at all once you have figured out what is it that you really want to play, I mean, what type…

The one and alone truth is that when a kid grabs a guitar, he or she pictures himself (or herself) rocking like the great legends of rock on a big stage with fireworks and special effects, and maybe it´s just a kid with a guitar (or sometimes a broom or…

It is hard to believe that there are sound production software programs on the market that use MP3 files as their file format for editing and recording audio. What follows are the reasons why MP3 should never be used to record, edit or mix with, what the MP3 codec is…

You know all the techniques and lessons, you know how to apply them, but you occasionally slip to your previous problems, or you still lack that certain X-factor and appeal.
Given there is nothing wrong with your chords, and before you even think that you are not cut out for…

This article will review the AKG C 1000 S Condenser Microphone.
The AKG C 1000 S Condenser Microphone is one of the best selling condenser microphones around.
It is packed with value and features and is a great price. The C 1000 is a great sounding microphone for vocal applications.…

One of the most unnerving challenges you will face as an aspiring singer is performance anxiety before an audition. Consequently, some guidance and stress relieving tips are definitely in order. Several of these will be familiar since they dovetail with information discussed in other articles.
Preparation Questions about the Audition…

One of the first things a new bass student should do is to begin learning major and minor scales. As I have stated before, this is the best way to learn the fingerboard. So, let's talk about the fingerboard. If my student was blind I would describe the fingerboard to…

I have heard it asked, why learn bass scales and arppeggios? What have they got to do with playing in a band? Why not learn songs? After all, that's what you will be asked to do as a bass player in a band. True, that's what you'll be asked to…

Hey! guitar world....lets speak on a subject that some love to talk about, that others shy away from, any yet some who are just indifferent to. What are your views on "solo-ing"? when is the right time to solo? well it seems like a subject that we can all talk…

Choosing which cymbal to buy can be a very long and confusing task. There is a wide range of cymbal companies on the market, most of whom having a vast selection of all types of cymbals. The three most popular cymbal companies, Zildjian, Paiste and Sabian are the main preferences…

For me, learning to play guitar was a very fun experience; I remember when I was a kid and got my guitar for Christmas when I was about thirteen years old, and I just did not want to put the guitar down, I remember I used to play all afternoon…